Passion Kneaded: Mini Rocky Road Bundts with "Marshmallow" Frosting

Some time ago, Laura of Baking in Pyjamas chose Rocky Road as the theme for this month's Bundt Bakers. Since then, I've had the cake in the back of my mind. I wasn't sure what I would make. But I thought I would make it a chocolate cake and then add in the other Rocky Road ingredients somehow. I planned all previous Bundts around the fact that this one would be chocolate. I even grabbed the marshmallows that I would need back in early April. You can't have Rocky Road with marshmallows, right?

Finally, it was time to bake the Bundt. I went back and forth for a while but finally settled on a chocolate cake that would have mixed nuts and dried fruit (the British Rocky Road uses dried fruit) and then I'd use those marshmallows in some kind of glaze.I pictured my little Bundts with a lovely white glaze drizzled in perfect lines. Clearly, I was picturing someone else's cake since I can't do a neat drizzle to save my life. But I wasn't about to ruin the fantasy with thoughts like that.

I whipped up my chocolate batter - opting for a thin one that really doesn't support fillings but it had been on my to-try list for a while. A couple of my cakes stuck a wee bit because I had also stirred in some chocolate chips and they sank to the bottom creating a deliciously fudgey situation. No big deal really. The sticking was minor and I expected it since I knew I hadn't greased two of my mini pans well. Chocolate? Check. Nuts? Check. Dried Fruit? Check. Chocolate chips for extra happiness? Check. Now all I needed were the marshmallows and maybe even biscuits (cookies) too since the British Rocky Road uses biscuits.

I reached for my container that had my marshmallows, ready to work on my glaze and the perfect drizzle. I pulled out the bag of marshmallows and then.... Well, you see, remember I mentioned that I bought the marshmallows in the beginning of April? Well, uh, since April, I've been helping myself to marshmallows each time I entered the kitchen. And apparently, the marshmallows did not magically refresh themselves so I was staring at only 2 sad marshmallows left in the bag. A classic Kelly move.

The Bundts were cooling and I needed a new plan - one that did not involve leaving the house. That's when I decided to go with what many label a "marshmallow" frosting. It's really just an Italian meringue and you certainly can't drizzle those perfect lines with it. But it will do when someone eats all the marshmallows that you were saving for your Rocky Road Bundt. Plus, you get to practise piping.

Be sure to scroll down to see all the lovely variations on this Rocky Road theme. Someone is sure to have that perfect marshmallow drizzle .

Mini Rocky Road Bundts with "Marshmallow" Frosting

Recipe by: Kelly Cake adapted from: Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Yield: 5 one-cup sized mini Bundts

Cake Ingredients

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup butter

2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons cocoa

1 cup flour

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/4 cup yogurt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup mix-ins (nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips)

1 tablespoon flour

Marshmallow Frosting

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 egg whites, room temperature

3 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Cake

Preheat oven to 350 F. Thoroughly grease and flour 5 one-cup mini Bundt pans.

Add the water, butter, and cocoa to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter is just melted.
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add half the chocolate mixture. It will be thick. Then stir in the remaining chocolate mixture. Stir in the egg until fully combined then stir in the yogurt and vanilla. . Mix until smooth.
Toss the mix-ins with the tablespoon of flour then stir them into the batter.
Pour into the prepared mini Bundt pans. Bake 18-22 minutes or until a skewer inserted all the way to the bottom of the pan comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes in the pans then invert onto wire racks to continue cooling.

Marshmallow Frosting
Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl.
Place the sugar in a small saucepan and pour the water over the sugar. Do not stir. Bring the mixture to a boil. When it reaches 235 F, start beating the egg whites. Beat the egg whites to a soft peak.
When the sugar mixture reaches 245 F, remove from heat, turn the mixer to high speed and slowly pour the hot syrup into the egg whites. Beat on high speed until the meringue reaches room temperature. Finally, beat in the vanilla.

Decorate the mini Bundts as you desire.

Notes

The batter is thin so most of your mix-ins will sink. That's OK though. It means you'll have a nice "rocky" top for your Rocky Road Bundts.
Double the recipe for a full-sized Bundt.

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